Murray loves thrill of chase
But Scot plays down his world No.1 hopes
The Scot gunned down Gilles Simon 6- 4 6- 3 and faces Roberto Bautista Agut in today’s Shanghai Masters Final after the Spaniard shocked world No.1 Novak Djokovic.
It will be Murray’s career-best 10th final of the season after romping to the China Open crown last week as he tries to catch the Serbian.
Murray said: “I want to try to get to No.1 but this year is going to be extremely difficult.
“The loss by Djokovic helps me a little bit but I’m still far away, so I’m not thinking about the No.1 ranking this week or right now.
“The start of the year Novak had was incredible and because it was three, four months ago, it’s almost like people are forgetting that he won the Aussie Open, Indian Wel ls, Miami, Madrid and French Open. He’s a long way ahead of me.
“I just want to finish this year as best as I can. It’s been the most successful in my career.
“The last few months have been some of the most consistent I have had so I just want to keep it going until the end of the year and finish as strong as possible.”
The world No. 2 has now won 18 sets in a row on the ATP World Tour and came to Shanghai after winning his fifth tour-level title of the season.
However, the Scot admitted he found the going tough against Simon despite winning his 10th straight match without dropping a set.
Murray said: “There were a lot of breaks of serves and Gilles is a tough guy to play against.
“Not many players play like him – he hits the ball extremely f lat, better than anyone.
“He’s quick around the court, he changes direction really well and it is difficult to get the balance.
“It’s not always easy to get the tactics right but I managed it.”
Murray insists Bautista Agut won’t make it easy but he wants the ranking points as he chases Djokovic.
He added: “He’s had some big wins. He beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last eight and is playing well.
“He pushes the top guys – he’s improving all the time and will be highly-motivated for his first Masters Series final. There’s a lot to play for both of us and it should be a great match.”
Having not lost his serve in the tournament, Murray was broken in the first game, setting the tone for a compelling opening set.
After six straight breaks of serve Murray capitalised on a set point when, having been lobbed himself, he produced a sublime backhand lob to win the set.
Normality resumed in the second set with Murray holding his first game then breaking Simon’s serve.
Both men managed to hold for the next three games before Murray got control of the 31-year- old’s service game to go 5-1 up with the chance to serve out the match.
Simon responded with a break and a comfortable hold, only for Murray to seal the match in powerful fashion.